Waterfall General (Garrawarra) Cemetery

Consultation has concluded

Update August 2015: Council has prepared a draft Planning Proposal for this site, which will be on exhibition for public comment from 24 August to 11 September 2015. To read more and make a submission, visit the exhibition page during that period.

Waterfall General Cemetery – also known as Garrawarra Cemetery – is located north west of Helensburgh, in the northern-most part of the Wollongong local government area.

This cemetery was used from 1909 to 1949 as a burial site for over 2000 tuberculosis patients from the nearby Waterfall Sanatorium, which operates today as the Garrawarra Centre for Aged Care.

Care of the abandoned, and already overgrown, Cemetery was handed to Wollongong City Council in 1967, along with four other cemeteries that were in use at the time. Today, the site has almost completely returned to bushland, and there is currently no public access.

Since 2012, Council has been conducting research into the cemetery with the help of consultants and local historians. A draft Conservation Management Plan has been prepared by consultants BIOSIS, and we invited the community to give us feedback on the various options for the future management of the site from 20 September to 15 November 2013.

A short film "Not Forgotten: The Story of Waterfall General Cemetery" has also been produced to provide members of the public with a better understanding of the current condition of the cemetery, and its history.

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to this process by sharing their stories and opinions. We're in the process of compiling your feedback, which will be presented to Council in early 2014 with recommendations on a preferred approach for the future management of the cemetery. We'll provide updates here as decisions are made.

In the meantime, we welcome anyone with connections to this site to get in touch with us. Feel free to share your story below, email us at council@wollongong.nsw.gov.au or call us on (02) 4227 7111.

Update August 2015: Council has prepared a draft Planning Proposal for this site, which will be on exhibition for public comment from 24 August to 11 September 2015. To read more and make a submission, visit the exhibition page during that period.

Waterfall General Cemetery – also known as Garrawarra Cemetery – is located north west of Helensburgh, in the northern-most part of the Wollongong local government area.

This cemetery was used from 1909 to 1949 as a burial site for over 2000 tuberculosis patients from the nearby Waterfall Sanatorium, which operates today as the Garrawarra Centre for Aged Care.

Care of the abandoned, and already overgrown, Cemetery was handed to Wollongong City Council in 1967, along with four other cemeteries that were in use at the time. Today, the site has almost completely returned to bushland, and there is currently no public access.

Since 2012, Council has been conducting research into the cemetery with the help of consultants and local historians. A draft Conservation Management Plan has been prepared by consultants BIOSIS, and we invited the community to give us feedback on the various options for the future management of the site from 20 September to 15 November 2013.

A short film "Not Forgotten: The Story of Waterfall General Cemetery" has also been produced to provide members of the public with a better understanding of the current condition of the cemetery, and its history.

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to this process by sharing their stories and opinions. We're in the process of compiling your feedback, which will be presented to Council in early 2014 with recommendations on a preferred approach for the future management of the cemetery. We'll provide updates here as decisions are made.

In the meantime, we welcome anyone with connections to this site to get in touch with us. Feel free to share your story below, email us at council@wollongong.nsw.gov.au or call us on (02) 4227 7111.

We're interested in collecting images and stories about the history of the site. Do you have any photos of the site or your relatives who spent time at the Waterfall Sanitorium? Please share your stories and photos here to help us paint a picture.

Thank you for sharing with us. Your input is valued. Your stories and photos will appear on our website once our team has seen them.

My name is Christine ChristieMy Fathers two brothers are burried at Garrawarra Cemetery.My granparents and their children four boys and a daughter imigrated from Wick Scotland in 1927 and settled in Granville NSW.Their third child John Mitchell Christie who was born on 13 May 1916 in Wick Scotland was in the Waterfall Sanatourim with Tuberculosis and died on the 20 November 1936 aged 20 years. He was burried in the Presbterian section at Waterfall.Their eldest child William Hunter Christie who was born on the 2 January 1912 in Wick Scotland was in Randwick Auxiliary Hospital also with Tuberculosis and died... Continue reading

With the publication of the article in the SMH on 3 November 2012 about the Waterfall Cemetery a missing page in our family history began to unfurl.

I wrote my first ever Letter to the Editor to share a little of our family history. The letter was published and the last ten (10) months have proven to be an exciting and emotional ride.

My mother's father, Thomas John James Kennedy was born on 28 September 1898 at Pambula on the NSW South Coast. He married my grandmother, Lydia Best on 27 July 1921 in Sydney. My aunt, Roma, was born... Continue reading